Every month, every quarter, every year sales professionals are measured, weighted, compared, stack ranked. And at these times a focused, driven goal oriented sales rainmaker may feel delightfully adequate or possibly deficient.
When given a moment to reflect on assess and understand your numbers or to review highlights and pitfulls of your recent activities; take care to understand every detail of what you did, what actions created your outcome and learn from the good things and focus on improving the tougher areas. Self reflection especially in your sales endeavors is key to long term success.
If you don't already have one find a system for tracking your daily routines, marketing habits, engagements and closings. Know how to create and manage a funnel of activity and opportunities. Track and report on new activity and results from your endeavors. If you have no numbers how can you aspect to know your numbers that create your desired results.
Once you have arrived at a financial or sales goal be sure to make your ceiling your floor and ascend to even greater sales success than you ever thought possible. The only thing holding you back is your mental capacity to believe you can accomplish any goal.
Happpy Selling,
KK
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Monday, August 18, 2008
Lesson 1 - Rainmaker Ingredients
I have had hundreds of conversations with friends, family members, associates, and people I network with over the years regarding sales skills, personal development and the practice of selling. I have trained fortune 100 sales representatives, presented at seminars, presented at nationally recognized trade shows, mentored colleagues, worked in master mind groups, attended countless seminars both large, small, read and listened to many books on the subject and remain a student of my craft daily. I believe I was to born to sell.
One of the most common questions I am asked is what does it take to be a sales rainmaker? More specifically how does one become a rainmaker. What most people are asking me is how do I create consistency in my sales practice. I would state, "consistent behaviors create consistent results".
Here is a diatribe I've crafted that focuses on key areas in my daily endeavors which allow me to create rainmaker results in my professional life.
First you must believe and act as though you are a rainmaker and you possess the knowledge, ambition, skill and qualities that make this possible. Then all you must do is practice with diligence the activities that create success in your sales practice (there is no one solution to all markets and products accept, the more people who know and trust you, the better your results). Focus on what you want the most. Stay positive and visualize your success. Your attitude, consistent focus on revenue producing activity, unstoppable belief in yourself and having goals will push you through tough challenges. But first you must believe success is possible for you, now!
Ingredient one: You like to talk but you like to listen more. If you do well in speeches, love to give toasts, enjoy being on stage or in the public eye. You already are a salesperson. If this is not your forte or presentations and speaking cause you stress, you need to spend additional time focused on learning public speaking. Join a speech and debate club or class, take a class such as oral interpretation of children's literature (offered at C.S.U.F.). Read a book out loud to your children and act out the characters voices and behavior, take an acting class. All of these activities will help you build speaking skills for use in selling.
Ingredient two: You like to work outside your comfort zone. If you enjoy the same routine, never order something new, try new restaurants or always drive the same route to school, work or to pick up your children from sports you may not be ready to actively sell just yet. But if you enjoy engaging new people, learning new things and love an adventure then selling may be right for you. It's a fact in sales the more time you spend doing the things most people find less attractive about selling the more success you will find over time.
Ingredient three: you are a competitor. You love to be first, to win, to lead the way. If you enjoy competition, like improving yourself, take constructive criticism well, are coachable, like being the best at things you endeavor to do than you are born to sell.
Ingredient four: You are well rounded. People might have called you a jack-of-all-trades, well versed, diverse, flexible, adaptive etc... If you have heard these things said about yourself then you have what it takes to apply yourself whenever and wherever needed and get things figured out quickly.
Ingredient five: you work alone quite well and love to work in teams. If you work well with others, but love to take on tough assignments by yourself as well you probably have the key characteristics to make it in enterprise sales as well.
Ingredient six: You love to hear the word no. Anytime in your life when someone told you, "you can't do it", "your not good enough", "your not smart enough", "your not XXX company material", "your not ready yet" etc... If you remained dead set on making your dream come true and let nothing stand in your way of obtaining it (legally) then you may have the focus of a rainmaker. Negatives give you energy to move forward to great positives in your life. Learn to turn a negative into a positive and you have the tenacity and attitude like a rainmaker.
Ingredient seven: You are a follow up machine. Once you smell opportunity you never let it pass you by. You find an in, you get the meeting, you call attention to yourself in a unique and professional manner, you connect at every level in an organization until you reach key decision makers ad present bottom line value to them. You follow up with your prospects until they buy or die. That is to say they either buy from you or someone else but you never lose a deal for lack of follow up. No is never no it's simply not now, diligent follow up will win you more deals and professional, courteous follow up will earn you respect and admiration form many of your prospects and customers.
Ingredient eight: You always speak to contacts within prospect organizations that possess the power to say, "YES". If you spend time talking to champions or people who give you good information about your prospect account but you never seem to crack into the real decision making structure you need to focus on elevating your game to higher decision makers. Focus on the C Level: CEO, CFO, CTO, CIO, CMO etc... One of the first questions you ask your prospects is the following, "Who including yourself will be a part of your decision making process?"
Ingredient nine: You are a boy scout... That's not to say you are an Eagle Scout but rather you possess a strong sense of who you are, what you are about and you carry out your daily duties with integrity and professionalism. In sales you have one powerful asset on your side "TRUST". Your customers and prospects will place their trust in you and your organization to correct problems they face in their business. They trust going with you and your company is the right decision they are making. Give a prospect one little reason not to trust you and you are finished my friend. Never lie, cheat or steal to get ahead. This tiny error will cost you more than you will ever know in integrity, credibility, professional clout and influence in future dealings. Remember one unhappy customer will tell 250 people about you and your company so don't ever be the reason someone leaves your organization. Always be remembered as honest, fair, reliable, faithful, integrity driven, true to your word.
Ingredient ten: Balance... Don't make work your only thing. Some cultures and professionals believe that the only way to the top is to live for your work. I love my work but my day job is not the only thing that defines me. My life, daily activities and actions define who I am, my family reflects the things I hold dear. And I make time to live and appreciate the people and activities who make me who I am as a professional and not the other way around.
Ingredient eleven: You are a temple. You believe it's important to respect and maintain a healthy body and clear mind. You take time to energize and focus on healthy habits that allow you to live a and enjoy a life filled with vibrance, balance, relaxation, positive energy so that you can be a positive and motivating force in other peoples lives. You treat your body and friends with respect and live a clean and healthy life. If you don't respect yourself and your body, who will?
More to come soon.
Kenneth "socialFIEND" Knapp
One of the most common questions I am asked is what does it take to be a sales rainmaker? More specifically how does one become a rainmaker. What most people are asking me is how do I create consistency in my sales practice. I would state, "consistent behaviors create consistent results".
Here is a diatribe I've crafted that focuses on key areas in my daily endeavors which allow me to create rainmaker results in my professional life.
First you must believe and act as though you are a rainmaker and you possess the knowledge, ambition, skill and qualities that make this possible. Then all you must do is practice with diligence the activities that create success in your sales practice (there is no one solution to all markets and products accept, the more people who know and trust you, the better your results). Focus on what you want the most. Stay positive and visualize your success. Your attitude, consistent focus on revenue producing activity, unstoppable belief in yourself and having goals will push you through tough challenges. But first you must believe success is possible for you, now!
Ingredient one: You like to talk but you like to listen more. If you do well in speeches, love to give toasts, enjoy being on stage or in the public eye. You already are a salesperson. If this is not your forte or presentations and speaking cause you stress, you need to spend additional time focused on learning public speaking. Join a speech and debate club or class, take a class such as oral interpretation of children's literature (offered at C.S.U.F.). Read a book out loud to your children and act out the characters voices and behavior, take an acting class. All of these activities will help you build speaking skills for use in selling.
Ingredient two: You like to work outside your comfort zone. If you enjoy the same routine, never order something new, try new restaurants or always drive the same route to school, work or to pick up your children from sports you may not be ready to actively sell just yet. But if you enjoy engaging new people, learning new things and love an adventure then selling may be right for you. It's a fact in sales the more time you spend doing the things most people find less attractive about selling the more success you will find over time.
Ingredient three: you are a competitor. You love to be first, to win, to lead the way. If you enjoy competition, like improving yourself, take constructive criticism well, are coachable, like being the best at things you endeavor to do than you are born to sell.
Ingredient four: You are well rounded. People might have called you a jack-of-all-trades, well versed, diverse, flexible, adaptive etc... If you have heard these things said about yourself then you have what it takes to apply yourself whenever and wherever needed and get things figured out quickly.
Ingredient five: you work alone quite well and love to work in teams. If you work well with others, but love to take on tough assignments by yourself as well you probably have the key characteristics to make it in enterprise sales as well.
Ingredient six: You love to hear the word no. Anytime in your life when someone told you, "you can't do it", "your not good enough", "your not smart enough", "your not XXX company material", "your not ready yet" etc... If you remained dead set on making your dream come true and let nothing stand in your way of obtaining it (legally) then you may have the focus of a rainmaker. Negatives give you energy to move forward to great positives in your life. Learn to turn a negative into a positive and you have the tenacity and attitude like a rainmaker.
Ingredient seven: You are a follow up machine. Once you smell opportunity you never let it pass you by. You find an in, you get the meeting, you call attention to yourself in a unique and professional manner, you connect at every level in an organization until you reach key decision makers ad present bottom line value to them. You follow up with your prospects until they buy or die. That is to say they either buy from you or someone else but you never lose a deal for lack of follow up. No is never no it's simply not now, diligent follow up will win you more deals and professional, courteous follow up will earn you respect and admiration form many of your prospects and customers.
Ingredient eight: You always speak to contacts within prospect organizations that possess the power to say, "YES". If you spend time talking to champions or people who give you good information about your prospect account but you never seem to crack into the real decision making structure you need to focus on elevating your game to higher decision makers. Focus on the C Level: CEO, CFO, CTO, CIO, CMO etc... One of the first questions you ask your prospects is the following, "Who including yourself will be a part of your decision making process?"
Ingredient nine: You are a boy scout... That's not to say you are an Eagle Scout but rather you possess a strong sense of who you are, what you are about and you carry out your daily duties with integrity and professionalism. In sales you have one powerful asset on your side "TRUST". Your customers and prospects will place their trust in you and your organization to correct problems they face in their business. They trust going with you and your company is the right decision they are making. Give a prospect one little reason not to trust you and you are finished my friend. Never lie, cheat or steal to get ahead. This tiny error will cost you more than you will ever know in integrity, credibility, professional clout and influence in future dealings. Remember one unhappy customer will tell 250 people about you and your company so don't ever be the reason someone leaves your organization. Always be remembered as honest, fair, reliable, faithful, integrity driven, true to your word.
Ingredient ten: Balance... Don't make work your only thing. Some cultures and professionals believe that the only way to the top is to live for your work. I love my work but my day job is not the only thing that defines me. My life, daily activities and actions define who I am, my family reflects the things I hold dear. And I make time to live and appreciate the people and activities who make me who I am as a professional and not the other way around.
Ingredient eleven: You are a temple. You believe it's important to respect and maintain a healthy body and clear mind. You take time to energize and focus on healthy habits that allow you to live a and enjoy a life filled with vibrance, balance, relaxation, positive energy so that you can be a positive and motivating force in other peoples lives. You treat your body and friends with respect and live a clean and healthy life. If you don't respect yourself and your body, who will?
More to come soon.
Kenneth "socialFIEND" Knapp
Welcome to Rainmaker You!
RainmakerYou is live!
This blog was created for professionals like you and I who love to sell. Who don’t want to do anything else. Who simply love the act of selling, closing the deal, winning the contract, making the commission. It’s for people who understand that without sales there is no business. Did you know the number one reason why businesses fail in America today is lack of sales. Selling is everything and without which there truly is nothing.
Have you ever met someone who you thought could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo?
You know the kind of person who always says, does and acts the right way... They are simply a “people person”. They may be funny, intriguing, enjoyable to be around. They somehow always know what to do to make a moment special, get the right answer or tell you exactly what you want to hear? “They” are a rainmaker at heart, and probably an excellent sales professional; whether they realize it or not.
If you found my blog than you are seeking deeply rewarding sales knowledge and instruction on sharpening your sales game and elevating your craft to new levels. You want how to’s, practical examples and useful timely information that can make you a sales rainmaker!
Am I close?
Well let me tell you a little story about why I know I was born to sell…
I took my first sales job when I was just about six years old. My first sales job was selling pieces of candy to neighborhood kids for nickels, dimes and quarters. My best friend Johnny and I would ride our bikes down to Key Liquor in Santa Ana, CA minutes after receiving our allowance. We would buy up as much penny, nickel and dime candy we could afford and pack it all into small brown paper bags and ride as fast as we could the three blocks back to our homes on Douglas Street. Once there we would grab the closest card board box, a piece of sturdy paper for a sign, some baskets or bowls from our Mother’s kitchens and of course a shoe box or band aid box for our register and off we went to sell.
We knew our market, our product, pricing and most of all our clients knew and trusted us. We were sales professionals of the highest order and we loved to sell.
Over thirty years later Johnny is a top regional sales manager for one of the largest flooring solution providers in the country and me… well I’m working on yet another small but rapidly growing rocket ship solutions provider in data-communications and loving every sale. We are and always have been sales professionals.
This blog was created for professionals like you and I who love to sell. Or you may be a working professional who has realized sales kills can be applied in your profession daily. Whether it’s selling your concepts, ideas or plans to higher ups or perhaps interviewing skills, communication or simply being more creative and adaptive in your daily work habits. We welcome you as well and hope you find numerous helpful topics and ideas you can use now.
If you didn’t possess an affinity to selling you would not be reading this far so I welcome you as a fellow sales professional and hope you find a few extremely helpful tips to elevate you to a new level of salesmanship.
Two things you can do to make sure you get every tip, story and anecdote I have to share are RSS my blog and sign up for my newsletter. There is no marketing engine or bot behind what you will read, it’s me sharing my life’s experience and knowledge with my contacts and friends. I’ll never share, sell or allow anyone to use my list for any reason. I know people hate to be sold. You’ll never be sold by me. ;-)
Welcome and enjoy.
Best Regards,
Kenneth Knapp
kenneth_knapp @ yahoo .com
This blog was created for professionals like you and I who love to sell. Who don’t want to do anything else. Who simply love the act of selling, closing the deal, winning the contract, making the commission. It’s for people who understand that without sales there is no business. Did you know the number one reason why businesses fail in America today is lack of sales. Selling is everything and without which there truly is nothing.
Have you ever met someone who you thought could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo?
You know the kind of person who always says, does and acts the right way... They are simply a “people person”. They may be funny, intriguing, enjoyable to be around. They somehow always know what to do to make a moment special, get the right answer or tell you exactly what you want to hear? “They” are a rainmaker at heart, and probably an excellent sales professional; whether they realize it or not.
If you found my blog than you are seeking deeply rewarding sales knowledge and instruction on sharpening your sales game and elevating your craft to new levels. You want how to’s, practical examples and useful timely information that can make you a sales rainmaker!
Am I close?
Well let me tell you a little story about why I know I was born to sell…
I took my first sales job when I was just about six years old. My first sales job was selling pieces of candy to neighborhood kids for nickels, dimes and quarters. My best friend Johnny and I would ride our bikes down to Key Liquor in Santa Ana, CA minutes after receiving our allowance. We would buy up as much penny, nickel and dime candy we could afford and pack it all into small brown paper bags and ride as fast as we could the three blocks back to our homes on Douglas Street. Once there we would grab the closest card board box, a piece of sturdy paper for a sign, some baskets or bowls from our Mother’s kitchens and of course a shoe box or band aid box for our register and off we went to sell.
We knew our market, our product, pricing and most of all our clients knew and trusted us. We were sales professionals of the highest order and we loved to sell.
Over thirty years later Johnny is a top regional sales manager for one of the largest flooring solution providers in the country and me… well I’m working on yet another small but rapidly growing rocket ship solutions provider in data-communications and loving every sale. We are and always have been sales professionals.
This blog was created for professionals like you and I who love to sell. Or you may be a working professional who has realized sales kills can be applied in your profession daily. Whether it’s selling your concepts, ideas or plans to higher ups or perhaps interviewing skills, communication or simply being more creative and adaptive in your daily work habits. We welcome you as well and hope you find numerous helpful topics and ideas you can use now.
If you didn’t possess an affinity to selling you would not be reading this far so I welcome you as a fellow sales professional and hope you find a few extremely helpful tips to elevate you to a new level of salesmanship.
Two things you can do to make sure you get every tip, story and anecdote I have to share are RSS my blog and sign up for my newsletter. There is no marketing engine or bot behind what you will read, it’s me sharing my life’s experience and knowledge with my contacts and friends. I’ll never share, sell or allow anyone to use my list for any reason. I know people hate to be sold. You’ll never be sold by me. ;-)
Welcome and enjoy.
Best Regards,
Kenneth Knapp
kenneth_knapp @ yahoo .com
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